Blogs (3) >>

This program is tentative and subject to change.

This paper explores the efficacy of near-peer computing mentors in fostering computing identity among students in courses across disciplines. The Computing Fellows program “attaches” near-peer mentors to a wide range of undergraduate courses to create an interdisciplinary learning environment for mentors and students. The mentors support the integration of computing into courses through activities including in-class workshops, one-on-one consultations, and drop-in office hours. Prior research has established the positive impact of near-peer mentoring on students’ sense of computer science identity in computer science educational pathways. Our paper contributes to this literature by studying the impact of near-peer mentoring on students in courses across the disciplines, including in courses in which there is no coding prerequisite. Our research demonstrates that aspects of computing identity are strengthened when students interact with a computing fellow. In a multi-year mixed-methods study, we analyze student evaluations from courses with attached fellows and cross-reference the results with student focus group data. Among our findings, students who say they met with a fellow at least once demonstrate a reported increase in computing interest (not seen in our full sample) and computing competency (larger than in our full sample). These increases also hold among the sub-group of students in courses with no coding prerequisites. Our qualitative data further shows the variety of ways course students describe the impact of computing fellows on their engagement with computing.

This program is tentative and subject to change.

Fri 28 Feb

Displayed time zone: Eastern Time (US & Canada) change

15:45 - 17:00
Undergraduate Instruction/ResearchPapers at Meeting Rooms 310-311
15:45
18m
Talk
A Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) Focused Broadly on Research Methods in Computer ScienceMSI
Papers
Amanda Fernandez University of Texas at San Antonio
16:03
18m
Talk
Improving Undergraduate Computing Engagement with Computing Fellows Across Disciplines
Papers
Elizabeth Melville Columbia University, Melissa Wright Barnard College, Jennifer Rosales Barnard College, Saima Akhtar Barnard College, Rebecca Wright Barnard College
16:22
18m
Talk
Incentivizing Good Programming Practices: The Impact of Early Program Submission on Student Course and Exam Performance
Papers
Shirin Haji Amin Shirazi University of California, Riverside, Ashley Pang UC Riverside, Allan Knight University of California, Riverside, Mariam Salloum Univeristy of California Riverside
16:41
18m
Talk
Literature Mapping: A Scaffolded, Scalable, Low-Overhead Undergraduate Research Experience
Papers
Brian Harrington University of Toronto Scarborough, Aditya Kulkarni University of Toronto, Rohita Nalluri University of Toronto, Anagha Vadarevu University of Toronto, Angela Zavaleta Bernuy University of Toronto